Avett Brothers, Feist & Ludacris bring big Bonnaroo performances

With its two main stages now open for business, some of the top tier names on the Bonnaroo 2012 bill started emerging Friday afternoon, ramping up to Radiohead’s headlining performance at 10 p.m.

Americana stars the Avett Brothers aren’t household names, but they’re well-known enough to book a concert at Bridgestone Arena (as they did last year) and have now graduated to Bonnaroo’s biggest stage. Firmly established fans turned out in droves for the late afternoon set, knowing just when to clap and sing along and feeding off the band’s high energy. The North Carolina group – fronted by brothers Scott and Seth Avett - strum their banjos and acoustic guitars with punk rock abandon, but also holler out surprisingly tender, classic-pop derived melodies (as heard in the Beatlemania-goes-acoustic ditty “Will You Return”).

Though they’re more fun and free than your average folk-rock group, the Avetts still display plenty of reverence for their musical roots. Halfway through their performance, the band performed “Blue Ridge Mountain Blues” in honor of departed folk music legend Doc Watson.

After giving early Roo-goers a sneak peak via a Thursday morning soundcheck, indie-pop favorite Feist returned for the real deal on Bonnaroo’s second largest stage known as “Which,” which in 2012 is denoted by a giant, spinning, glowing question mark sitting atop of the stage rafters.

As Feist delivered soothing and soulful takes on cuts from her hailed 2011 album Metals as well as her 2007 masterwork (in our opinion) The Reminder, a crowd quickly swelled just around the corner, as southern rap mainstay Ludacris was getting ready to hit the stage at 6:45 p.m.under This Tent.

When the Bonnaroo schedule was revealed a few weeks ago, Ludacris – who’s enjoyed more than a handful of No. 1 pop and hip-hop hits over his decade-plus career – seemed way too big not to be on one of the main stages, particularly at a time when nearly all of the audience would be out and about on the concert grounds. That proved to be true well before the time the Atlanta rapper emerged, greeted by a largely southern audience raised on his hits over the last 12 years.

With an assured style not unlike that of 2010 Bonnaroo headliner Jay-Z, Ludacris flaunted a full band, backup dancers, and a catalog of hits doled out in quick succession: “What’s Your Fantasy,” “Area Codes,” “Act a Fool” and “Rollout” among them.

Ludacris was the epitome of cool, of course, but he and his entourage seemed genuinely impressed and thrilled with the crowd they’d attracted. Ludacris called the audience “one of the livest crowds” he’d ever performed for (“live” meaning energetic and enthusiastic, for those of you not up on hip-hop jargon), and hoped out loud that he’d be invited back to Bonnaroo next year.

“I might keep going until they kick (me) off the stage,” he said at one point. That didn’t end up proving true, but in the moment, everyone seemed to believe him – and clearly wouldn’t have minded.